


Of Course We Are

by polishmyarmor



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cute, Dating, Ensemble Cast, F/F, M/M, Scheming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polishmyarmor/pseuds/polishmyarmor
Summary: Morgana decides that Arthur and Merlin are in love. Scheming ensues.
Relationships: Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 153
Collections: Merlin Holidays 2020





	Of Course We Are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LamentableComedy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamentableComedy/gifts).



Morgana was tipsy. She had decided, in a great demonstration of strength and stubbornness, to out-drink Gwaine. Gwaine was tipsy, too. 

"You lot are ridiculous," Gwen said, smiling as she returned to their crowded table with another round of drinks. Leon, Percival, Morgana, and Gwaine all returned her smile and reached for their pints. 

"s'why you love us," Morgana replied, tipping her head back and spinning on her barstool. Gwen caught her before she could spin round again. 

"Yes, that is always top of my list for friends, just above charming and intelligent." 

"Ooh, bad luck Gwaine, she said intelligent," Morgana giggled. 

"I'm not bothered," Gwaine replied, "Percival's not charming, I'll just hang out with him." Gwaine elbowed Percival good-naturedly. "Now, are we doing this?" 

"Round three-let's go!" Morgana began gulping down her drink and Gwaine followed suit. As they were drinking, Leon turned to Gwen. 

"I thought Arthur was joining us tonight," he murmured. 

"Merlin, too. They must be, erm, working," Gwen answered. 

"Arthur and Merlin aren't here?!" Morgana didn't so much speak this as offer a gentle roar, her volume and volubility increasing with her intoxication. "D'you know something?" 

"Oh, lots and lots," Gwaine responded. 

"No, seriously, d'you know something? I think...no, I think that the two of them," Morgana had started spinning back and forth on her barstool, building up suspense, "I think those two, " spin "those two" spin "those two..." 

Gwen once again stopped Morgana spinning. "Those two what?" 

"Those two are soul mates!" 

Leon raised an eyebrow then shrugged, "that's not particularly surprising...did you just realize?" 

"Wait! I'm surprised!" Percival blurted. 

Gwaine patted Percival on the back, "Well, that's alright, man, you'll spot the next set of soul mates, I'm sure of it." 

"I do believe they care a great deal for each other," Gwen conceded, "but they might just be quite good friends." 

Gwen's voice went up at the end, as though her statement was also a question, and her cheeks flushed. 

"Gwen, you're BLUSHING!" Morgana poked her arm accusingly, "why are you blushing? What are you hiding?" 

Gwen's eyes grew large. "Nothing!" She quickly took a long, slow sip of her beer as Morgana's eyes glittered. 

"Nice try! You always blush when you lie!" 

Gwen set her beer down and sighed. Then, she whispered, "listen...I promised not to tell, but, one time, I could've sworn I saw Merlin checking Arthur out, and I asked him about it and well, he said, and I quote, "I get to choose Arthur's clothes, and, erm, he lets me choose what I like." And then even his _ears_ turned red." 

"There was this one time," Gwaine thought back, "I could've sworn Arthur thought I liked Merlin, and he did that thing." 

"What thing?" Percival wondered. 

"Well, you know, that thing, that little sort of head-shake, shrug, throat-clearing thing, and then he talked about Merlin's finer qualities, but in this way where it was like he was...calling dibs." 

"You can't call dibs on a person," Leon sensibly noted. 

"No, I know, but like...it was sort of a, I saw him first kind of vibe, and, I mean, there were plenty of other handsome blokes wandering around the castle, what was it to me? So I didn't press it or anything, and Arthur never mentioned it again." Gwaine ran his hand through his hair, pensively. 

"I _knew_ I was right!" Morgana beamed, triumphantly. 

"So, okay, we know they probably like each other. But why haven't they done anything about it then?" Percival interjected. 

"I'd bet anything, Arthur's terrified of being rejected, and Merlin, even if he's not afraid of the rejection, he'd probably dread the teasing, the unbearable, smug, teasing that would come if Arthur discovered Merlin fancied him," Gwen reasoned. 

"Boo!" Morgana bellowed, "they should date!" 

"Ah, so it's three beers to matchmaking Morgana," Gwaine laughed, "what happens after four?" 

"Outright mischievous scheming," Gwen replied. 

"Who's got the next round, then?" Gwaine set his hands on the table, grinning yet determined. 

"That'd be me," Leon stood up to head over to the bar. "I'd hate to stand in the way of a good scheme." 

*** 

As Gwen and Morgana strolled home that night, coats buttoned against the cold and fingers intertwined as their hands swung back and forth between them, Morgana turned to Gwen, eyes glinting. "I think this could work." 

"I think so, too, but we've got to be careful." 

"When am I ever not careful?" Morgana retorted indignantly, swaying slightly. 

Gwen raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I stopped you tripping over a barrel not five minutes ago." 

"That doesn't count! I'm careful about feelings, Gwen!" 

"Alright, I know...I do hope this works." Gwen and Morgana arrived back at the castle, where, after briefly exchanging looks, they switched to discussing flower arranging as they made their way back to their chambers, past the guards and maids still roaming the halls. 

*** 

"Are we really doing this," Leon wondered aloud, as the whole gang from last night lounged around Morgana's room, stealing bits of breakfast from her table. 

"Why wouldn't we?" Percival mumbled through his bacon. 

"It could go...badly," Gwen answered, gently tugging a grape from its stem. 

"Or, it could go...swimmingly," Morgana replied. 

"So, the plan," Gwaine refocused the group while scooping up some eggs. 

"Yes, the plan!" Morgana clapped her hands. "So, we just need to find a way to get the two of them alone together," 

"Aren't they always alone together?" Leon interrupted. 

"Let me finish! They need to be alone together, _romantically_. So, Gwaine, you know the pub owner, right?" 

"Barracus, yeah, I know him." 

"Okay, so, you'll ask him if we can rent out the whole pub from him, then we'll send Merlin and Arthur along, and they'll have a nice romantic dinner, no torches, just candles lighting the place, and it'll be brilliant!" 

*** 

Three days later, Gwaine sauntered up to Arthur and asked him, conspiratorially, "Soooo, how was the pub last night?" 

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it was fine—pretty empty, though," Arthur shrugged. 

"So...you and Merlin still had a, uh, a good time though, right?" 

"Er, yeah—we played cards, the food seemed better than usual, it was a nice night." Arthur regarded Gwaine quizzically. 

"So, then, it was um...you enjoyed each other's company," Gwaine pressed. 

"Yeah, mate, listen, you've been to the pub before, right? What's with the questions?" 

"No, nothing," Gwaine took a step back and patted Arthur's shoulder reassuringly, "just wanted to make sure you had a good time." And with that, he walked away, shaking his head. 

*** 

"Hey, Merlin!" Gwen skipped through the hall to catch up with Merlin, who was carrying a stack of laundry up to Arthur's room. 

"Hi, Gwen," he responded, smiling. 

"Did you have a good night last night?" Gwen tried to ask this nonchalantly, to limited success. 

"Oh, yeah, I mean I slept alright and everything. You?" 

"No, yes, I slept fine. I meant, at the pub?" 

"Oh," Merlin grinned, "yeah! I beat Arthur at cards three times in a row! Pity there wasn't anyone else in the pub to see, but I'd say it was a good night. What did you get up to?" 

"Me? Oh, nothing much, Morgana and I just stayed in." Gwen looked at Merlin, confused. 

"Sounds lovely," Merlin replied, then waved Gwen goodbye and entered Arthur's chambers. 

*** 

"Clearly, we have to up the stakes," Morgana replied, as the team gathered once more around her breakfast table. 

"Maybe they're just fine as friends?" Percival offered. 

"There's nothing wrong with being friends," Leon added. 

"Yes, sure, true, but we all know they like each other, and clearly, it's meant to be!" Gwaine sputtered. 

"Exactly! Thank you, Gwaine! So, we just need to find an environment that's more romantic—clearly, the pub wasn't enough for them to get the hint." 

"So, what's more romantic than the pub?" Wondered Percival. 

"A man after my own heart," Gwaine chuckled and patted Percival on the back. 

"Hmm...I hear there's an excellent troubadour in the next kingdom—what if I arranged a private table for the two of them to watch the performance? I could even ask the troubadour to only play romantic songs," Leon offered. 

"Excellent!" Morgana practically cackled with glee as Leon looked for a piece of parchment to send a message to the troubadour. 

*** 

Morgana threw her book aside the moment she heard Merlin and Arthur's voices drift past her chambers. Darting out the door, she quickly caught up to them. 

"So, did you two have a good time last night?" She asked, breathlessly, smiling. 

"Yeah, the troubadour was brilliant," Merlin replied. 

"Although you did say you wish he'd done the one about the dragon," Arthur reminded him. 

"True, true, though the ones he did weren't bad, of course," Merlin nodded. 

"Lots of romantic chivalry abounding—jousting knights and handkerchiefs thrown down from the stands, that sort of thing." As Arthur said this, Merlin absentmindedly adjusted his neckerchief. Morgana's eyes glinted. "Bit silly, but generally quite nice." 

"So, good then!" Morgana responded. 

"Yeah, good," Arthur looked wonderingly at Morgana, "you know, you could go see him, too, if you're so interested." 

"Me, no, not interested, not interested, just curious how your night went," and with that, Morgana spun on her heel and trotted back to her room. 

*** 

"This is getting ridiculous!" Gwaine bemoaned, tossing a grape into his mouth. Percival slapped his arm with the back of his hand, so Gwaine threw a grape at him too. Percival caught it, smiling. 

"I don't know, I think something might be happening, they're _almost_ there, they're _almost_ dating, they just need another little nudge," Morgana insisted, pensively tearing her toast. 

"Private dinner, romantic show, what else do they need, a sign from above?" Gwaine wondered aloud. 

"That's it!" Gwen exclaimed. "Gaius was just telling me—there's supposed to be a comet in the sky tonight—we can put blankets out and have them watch it from the tallest tower!" 

"All we need do, then, is find some reason for Merlin and Arthur to be on the tallest tower, at night, in a surprisingly romantic setting," Leon stated skeptically. 

"Could Gaius help?" Percival asked. "Couldn't he just _order_ Merlin to observe the stars for some sort of potiony purpose?" 

"Absolutely!" Gwen exclaimed, "but then we need to get Arthur up there." 

"What if," Morgana had that four-drinks scheming look in her eye once more, "what if we told him there's a prophecy, that whatever ruler witnesses this comet will go on to be the greatest king of their lands?" 

"Do you know, I think that might work," Leon replied, appreciatively. 

"It better!" Gwaine exclaimed, frustratedly shoving a handful of grapes in his mouth. 

"It will!" Morgana insisted. 

*** 

"He bought it, right? He's up there?" Morgana urgently whispered to Leon as they crept towards the entrance to the stairs that led up to the tallest tower. 

"Absolutely, and Gwen talked to Gaius, right Gwen?" Leon waved Gwen over as she too tiptoed down the passage. 

"Yes, although, he had a sort of funny look about him when I told him our plan." 

"Maybe he can't spot true love the way we can!" Morgana's whisper was becoming more of a bellow. 

"I don't think that was it," Gwen responded thoughtfully. Just then, Percival and Gwaine approached. 

"Are you lot waiting to see what happens, too?" Gwaine called out. 

"Yes, but hush! They might hear us!" Morgana admonished. 

"All the way up the stairs?" Percival wondered, "Seems...unlikely." 

The gang now hovered by the entrance to the stairs, straining to hear who knows what, when, after what seemed like an eternity, they heard the rapid thump of footsteps. 

"Scatter!" Gwaine ordered. 

"Be calm!" Leon retorted. "We're allowed to be in the hallway." 

"Right, right, unscatter!" Gwaine hissed. The group reformed in an unconvincingly nonchalant herd. Arthur and Merlin emerged from the stairwell; Arthur had his arm draped over Merlin's back and Merlin nestled into Arthur's shoulder. 

"Hello...everybody," Arthur and Merlin took in their cluster of friends. 

"Oh, hey!" Morgana's voice went up in suggestive mock-surprise. 

"You two having a nice night?" Gwen asked. 

"Pretty good," Arthur replied, squeezing Merlin closer. Merlin guffawed. 

"You must admit, we've had better dates." 

"Sure, sure, but we've also had worse!" Arthur retorted. 

"You're just bitter about the cards—pub night was my favorite." Merlin poked Arthur's ribs. 

Morgana barely suppressed a grin as she asked, "So, wait, you two are...dating?" 

"What? Yes, of course we're dating," Merlin responded, looking confused. 

"Since when?" Gwaine asked. 

"What is it now, Merlin, three months?" 

"And two weeks," Merlin replied, smiling at Arthur while taking his hand and swinging it gently between them. 

Percival looked back and forth between Arthur and Merlin, then wondered aloud, "But why didn't you tell us?" 

Merlin and Arthur exchanged looks, then shrugged at the same time. "We thought you knew." 

"You didn't think there should be some sort of announcement or something?" Morgana harrumphed. 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "did you have some sort of announcement when you and Gwen started dating?" 

Now Gwen and Morgana exchanged looks. "That's different—you all knew!" 

"I didn't," Leon interjected. 

They looked at Leon in surprise. Gwen blurted out, "but, we've kissed in front of you!" 

Leon shrugged, sighed, and said, "well, I'm not one to make assumptions." 

With that, everyone laughed, shook their heads, and, their matchmaking jobs done, wished each other good night. 

As Percival and Gwaine walked towards their rooms, Percival turned and asked him sincerely, "Hey Gwaine, are we..." 

"Of course we are." 


End file.
